Millennial Entrepreneurs: Scott Palmer ’08

An entrepreneurial mindset means never being satisfied with today’s status quo and always thinking about what’s next, says Scott Palmer ’08, who majored in marketing at North Central. “I’m a builder, I’m always looking to build something,” he says. “And then I want to continue on and build something else.”

Palmer’s energy and passion for business has carried him through successful positions in marketing and business development for printing and marketing firms, including CCI Communications Group in the Chicago area. Later, through connections in the printing industry and searching for a local company to produce work for a Canadian customer, he learned about a family-owned firm in Lisle that needed marketing expertise and a partner. Since 2010, Palmer has been a partner in Graphics Plus Inc., where he provides leadership for sales and marketing expertise for projects and implementation.

“The partners needed a succession plan and I had an understanding of newer technologies and marketing,” Palmer says.

Palmer in his “free time” operates his own company called Frupal. He specifically set up the company to gain experience about importing products from China, creating a website for online sales and general business operations. “I’m selling iPhone cases that I import from China,” he says. “My mission has been to build my own transferable skills for future business ventures and opportunities. It’s an experiment in life and I can take that knowledge to help clients.”

His other passion has been leading groups of entrepreneurs through online support group sessions for the Liautaud Institute, based at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

After transferring to North Central to play football and improve his academic experience, he found that real-world lessons in an entrepreneurship course taught by Brian Hanlon, Coleman Foundation Professor of Entrepreneurship, helped him “think outside the box.”

“What I learned from North Central is how to keep learning after graduation,” he says.